Christmas in Paradise with dolphins and kiwis

Last light, Doubtful Sound © Caroline Fraser

As you know, I am working in New Zealand for a few months, in order to do some photography and get paid enough to stay here for longer than the average 2 week holiday.

I am not one to sit in a plane for 36 hours twice within two weeks.

But my lovely family are doing just that, in order to spend Christmas in Paradise with me.



The road to Paradise was sunny and busy with people carrying selfie sticks.

people in Paradise

But if you looked the other way it still looked like paradise to me.

Paradise and the Dart River © Caroline Fraser

The waters of the river were cool and crystal clear.

Dart river water

But I don't want to rub in the beauty of this place.

Other Half is waiting for some words from yours truly.



I hesitate to write this next part for I have just discovered that he ( my other half)  has only 3 months left on his life insurance policy, and I will be a much richer widow if he pops off before his next birthday.

We discussed together a few ways that I could hasten his demise ( in jest, of course).

I will name a few;

• heart attack climbing Ben Lomond. .............FAILED ....... it was me that nearly had the heart attack due to extreme heat.

• falling off a cliff on the road to Paradise......FAILED........ people with selfie sticks would have heard the screams

the road to Paradise

Nice place to die though.

everybody loves a selfie

• death by helicopter ride over the mountains.............FAILED

• death by great white shark.......... not attempted, but a fairly gruesome way to go. And what if he was only maimed?

shark cage divers

death by sand fly attack...........quite possible..........probably both of us........which is not the point....

death by chocolate..... not allowed.....




So we carried on with our adventures and it seems to be the wildlife that is taking most of our attention right now.

We have found albatrosses at Doubtful Sound and Stewart Island

albatross

Seagulls of the friendly variety

Crayfish of the most delicious kind;


lunch

lunch

A stray octopus;

not lunch

octopus

Blue cod;

dinner

blue cod

OH wants you to know that he caught 5 fish..........they were used as bait...... pacific perch not considered fit for lunch or dinner

bait for fishing

he is now complaining that you can't see his fish properly..........


So here he is....

OH caught a fish

And most exciting of all we had a baby dolphin along with many others, also on Doubtful Sound, swimming alongside our boat.




everybody say 'ahhhhhhh"

baby dolphin

and for the grand finale



THE NEW ZEALAND KIWI!

kiwi on Ulva Island

rarely seen in daylight, or even at all.


OH nearly tripped over it on Ulva Island having been out for 3 hours in the dark the night before on a guided 'find the kiwi at great expense' tour and come back with a photo in which there may have been a kiwi, but neither you nor I could really tell.


We have a few days left of exploring this paradise together, and then it will be back to work and there will be time for a different kind of photography.....the kind where I am allowed to stand in one place for more than 2 minutes before the next hill or mountain has to be climbed.

on entering my second childhood - barbie dolls and bird stones

Primrose

Other half (OH) is getting worried about me.

I have spent my weekend collecting stones and leaves. Stones that look like eggs and stones that have faces. Camber Sands has a plentiful supply, and unlike shopping, stone hunting costs nothing. It is a fine way to spend time on a lovely beach when they skies are grey and the wind is blowing too hard for making photographs.

He feels I am regressing towards five years old. Meanwhile he is advancing rapidly to adulthood, for he has a new telephone.

OH has joined the land of modern technology with a 4G mobile device. He is very pleased with it. I taught him how to send a text message. He is advancing rapidly. Soon he might learn how to take photos with it too. I have avoided upgrading my phone for fear of taking even more photos than I already do.

I haven't told him about my Barbie doll. It would reinforce his view that I am rediscovering my childhood. I found her in an Oxfam shop. She likes to go out in the garden and explore the spring flowers.

When I was 5 I didn't play with dolls, and I have never before owned a Barbie. There is only one problem; she doesn't have many clothes. She has a short skirt. And that is it. No knickers or even a brassiere. And I am not going to go and buy her any. She will have to make do with what she can find.

I chose her for her blue eyes.

Who could resist them?

she can hide behind a rock

In the interests of public decency I have fashioned a top for her.

She looks ravishing in pink.

She can look a bit 'naughty' without her top on. We won't go there. That's a very different story.

Barbie and the magnolia tree

She is hoping to feature in a book of flowers one day.

The main thing is that she injects a bit of frivolity into my 5 year old life, and fun at five is so much better than dullness in my late 'several decades after 5's.

Which brings me onto age and beauty. Barbie never ages. I sadly do.

Have you tried the new how old do I look app?

I couldn't resist it.

I was delighted to be told that I am 4 years younger than I really am. I tested it again on a second photo taken in India a few weeks earlier. That made me only 2 years younger than I really am.

I pointed out to OH that going to India added two years to my life. And it certainly felt like it.

OH pointed out that the holiday had taken two years off my life and that I was now 2 years younger as a result.

We beg to differ.



Anyway........

I shall carry on collecting stones, for that is what I do.

stone eggs

And just so that I can say to OH that I did something with the leaves that were adorning the kitchen table, here is one that looks like a fish. It is from a Magnolia Grandiflora.

leaf fish

I shall carry on playing with my barbie doll.

owl stone

And I shall carry on looking for birds and other animals.

owl

For if nothing else, it will stop me taking pictures of litter.

tree with red plastic bag

For a few minutes at least.

Until the next time.

life choices in the Lofoten islands - food or photography?

snow in Harstad

Other half (OH) and I are in Norway.

OH has been persuaded to join me on a photographic adventure to the arctic circle.

He normally stays at home when I go to cold, wet and rainy places. He likes his destinations hot and sweaty. I am the reverse, relishing nothing more than packing a bag full of thermal underwear, waterproof trousers and my hiking boots.

I have wanted to visit the Lofoten Isalnds in Norway for some time; ever since I saw images by David Ward from one of his tours there a few years back.

I have been harping on about going there for a year or two……… and to my delight, OH has agreed to come too. I need him to help if I get stuck in a snowdrift. The weather can be very unpredictable up here.

I have learnt a few things since we arrived.

1. I would rather be out making photos than eating.
2. OH would rather be eating than out making photos.
3. There is no shortage of spectacular scenery to make photos from.
4. THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT LACK OF FOOD AND HOT DRINKS IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD AND RATIONS MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO RUN LOW.

Oh dear.

We started in Harstad, where it became clear that snow is everywhere, even in the town centre. This is the arctic circle, after all. Where there is a plentiful supply of sheet ice. We trod carefully.

Harsted

We made it to Vinmonopolet, to acquire liquor. 

We made it to the supermarket to get sandwiches.

We made it to the historic church. It was closed.

I could happily have taken photos of the trees, church, graveyard etc. But OH wanted to see the museum, and having dragged him all this way it hardly seemed kind to deny him his bit of history. He loves history. The older the better.

But the museum was closed.

We decided not to camp, and started our journey to destination number two.

The only sign in English in Harstad. As if…….

Time to get on the road, get to the scenery.

The scenery was snowy. The snow was piled high on the sides of the road. There was nowhere to stop and take pictures. And where the was, the view was obscured by trees.

Lunchtime.

A picnic in a lay-by. Standing on a sheet of ice.

Food on a table of snow.

lunchtime.

This is not a place for fine dining.

This is the land of fish.

Fishermen, fishing villages, fresh cod and dried cod.

Fish going all around the world.



We visited Myre and Nyksund, in Vesteralen.

A place where signs leave little room for the imagination.

The air smells of fish.

Myre

Fresh cod is shipped around the world or dried to make stockfish; unsalted dried cod.

cod drying on a wooden rack 

stockfish 

Even the music festivals revolve around cod.

Codstock poster on stockfish drying racks

Myre fishing boat heads out to sea.

Nyksund -  a deserted fishing village

This is not a place for fine dining. You can't get fish and chips, or even a cup of tea.


OH gave up and cooked us  some eggs and bacon in the microwave.

fine dining a la microwave

I stopped worrying about about food and decided to go out and do some photography.

before breakfast at Sortland

before dinner in Svolvaer

Tomorrow night I am designated chef.


I fancy toast, jam and some green vegetables.

Lofoten in winter ( after lunch)

An Indian Summer at Camber Sands

saturday evening

There are a lot of people in Germany reading this blog; they seem to be interested in what goes on at Pontins. I know they love to visit Camber, and who can blame them. The beach is something special for those who live in a land locked country.

camber sands, September 2014

Walking on the beach last night as the sun set, and again this morning at low tide I felt very lucky.

My other half is enjoying the daffodils in Sydney, Australia, so I am living it up and eating lots of fish while he eats lots of meat down under.

each to his own.......

As the sun set there was an extraordinary calm sea.

the ship that carries the rocks

Of course I didn't go anywhere near the big rocks down at Jury's Gap that are being used to build the sea defences, and nor did this man and his children

nowhere near the rocks

or this dog and his owners.

a little bit near the rocks

I just enjoyed the setting sun, and the incredible stillness.

This morning was equally calm and still. An Indian summer in every sense.


The beach spotlessly clean.

the litter pickers do a great job

So it was surprising that the Sunday peace for many people in Camber today was completely destroyed by the voice of one man, who could be heard right down on the water's edge.

Pontins was having a '24 hour party'. And it seems that the whole of Camber was expected to listen to the compere.


I drove to Rye for some peace and quiet.

There was a rock concert on the salt marsh, and about 200 men in leathers on bikes at the harbour.

Must be the weather..........

I gave in and went for a run.

Indian Summer at Camber Sands